As many of the top prospects in his region have already made their college decisions an even greater spotlight has been focused on Richard Rodgers, the talented prospect from Massachusetts.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Rodgers is a highly coveted and intriguing prospect because of his size and versatility, which cause him to project as perhaps an athlete tight end in the college ranks.

For several months now Rodgers has been listening to colleges and coaches make their recruiting pitch and it's clear he's starting to formulate a better idea of what he wants from a school. A decision could be coming before the start of his senior season at Shrewsbury (Mass.) St. John's, and now five schools have separated themselves from the pack.

"It would be Cal, Oregon, Maryland, BC and Notre Dame," Rodgers said of the five schools currently at the top of his list. "Recently I've been to Cal, Oregon, Maryland and BC."

That means Rodgers has been a very busy man of late, and his recent trips have been especially important considering they were all to schools high on his list. He spoke about each one of those trips in an interview with Rivals.com on Sunday.

"They were all good," he said. "At Cal I really liked the coaching staff up there. I got to play against some great competition. They showed me the offense and where I'd fit in. I like what they have to offer.

"I really like Oregon's campus and facilities and everything like that. Their coaching staff was great also. I like the plan they have for me. They want me to play a little tight end and a little receiver ... kind of a hybrid. I like that.

"Maryland was better than I expected. I didn't expect the facilities to be as nice as they were because I hadn't been there and hadn't heard too much about it. They're definitely up there in the top five.

"I went to Boston College yesterday and that's a great school. Obviously it's right next to my house in my hometown. It was great to get there and see what they have. Of course, I've been there before. They had some really good competition there. I really like the head coach, coach Spaz (Spaziani). It's gonna be a tough decision."

Though the fifth school on Rodgers' list, Notre Dame, isn't mentioned above, there's a good reason for that. Rodgers hasn't been there yet, but he plans on changing that right away.

"I'm actually going up to Notre Dame tomorrow," he said on Sunday. "I'll be going out there tomorrow night."

Rodgers reiterated that he would like to make a decision before his senior season but will wait longer if he needs to.